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Andrew Li

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In thisHong Kong name,thesurnameisLi.In accordance with Hong Kong custom, the Western-style name is Andrew Li and the Chinese-style name is Li Kwok-nang.
The Honourable
Andrew Li Kwok-nang
GBMCBEKCSCJP
Lý quốc năng
1stChief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal
In office
1 July 1997 – 31 August 2010
Appointed byTung Chee-Hwa
Succeeded byGeoffrey Ma
DeputyHigh CourtJudge
In office
1991–1997
Deputy Judge of theDistrict Court
In office
1982–1985
Member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong
In office
October 1992 – 1996
Personal details
BornDecember 1948 (age 75)
British Hong Kong
NationalityChinese
Alma materFitzwilliam College, Cambridge(MA,LL.M)
Andrew Li Kwok-nang
Traditional ChineseLý quốc năng
Simplified ChineseLý quốc năng

Andrew Li Kwok-nangGBMCBEKCSCJP(Chinese:Lý quốc năng;born December 1948) is a retired Hong Kong judge, and a formerChief Justice of Hong Kong,who was the first to preside over theHong Kong Court of Final Appeal,established on 1 July 1997. Li was succeeded byGeoffrey Maon 1 September 2010.

Li was born in Hong Kong and educated locally and inEngland.A graduate of theUniversity of Cambridge,Li practised as abarristerin Hong Kong until his appointment as Chief Justice. During his 13 years as Chief Justice, Li handled a variety of important appellate cases and was known for his moderate jurisprudence and visionary leadership. He has remained active in public service since his retirement.

Early life and education[edit]

Born in Hong Kong, Andrew Li received his early education atSt. Paul's Co-educational College,and then atRepton Schoolin Derbyshire, England. He earned an MA and LLM fromFitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

The Former French Mission Building, used as the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong during Li's tenure as Chief Justice

Legal career[edit]

Li was called to theMiddle Templein 1970, and the Hong Kong Bar in 1973.[1]He served pupillage underPeter Millett,laterLord Millett.[2]

His first ever pupil wasAudrey Eu,who commenced herpupillagein 1978. Her brother andsenior counselBenjamin Yu[zh]was also Li's pupil.[3]FormerSecretary for JusticeWong Yan Lungwas Li's last pupil.[4]In 1988, he was appointedQueen's Counsel.

He was appointed a Deputy Judge of theDistrict Court of Hong Kongin 1982 and a DeputyHigh CourtJudge in 1991. In 1997, Li was appointed theChief Justiceof theCourt of Final AppealbyTung Chee-Hwa,the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region after the handover. As Chief Justice, he presided in the Court of Final Appeal and was Head of the Judiciary charged with its administration. He served for 13 years until his retirement in 2010.

Li has been lauded for visionary leadership as Chief Justice.[5][6][7][8]He has left "an indelible mark in the annals of the history of the HKSAR."[9]He was "the main impetus" in the development of the Court of Final Appeal, where he developed a moderate jurisprudence and was a consensus builder.[10]Lord Millett,who served alongside Li as a non-permanent judge of the CFA, described Li as "[certainly] the wisest" member of the court.[11]

In 1999, he gave the leading judgment inNg Ka Ling and Others v. Director of Immigration,[12]which was at the centre of theright of abode controversy.

In 2000, Li set up a working party, consisting of judges, lawyers and academics, to introduce reforms on minimising the complexity of High Courtcivil litigation procedures,widening judges' discretionary powers tomanage the progress of casesand requiring lawyers to justify their charges. An interim report was released in 2001, containing 80 recommendations, some of which mirror those in theWoolf Reformsin England.[13]Known as the Civil Justice Reform, the final report was released on 3 March 2004, setting out 150 recommendations.[14]It has come into effect on 2 April 2009.[15]

Li announced his decision to resign early from his position as Chief Justice on 25 August 2009, ceasing service on 31 August 2010 and commencing pre-retirement leave on 1 September 2010, three years before retirement age.[16]He would leave public life upon retirement.[17]Li's announcement that he intended to take early retirement came as a surprise, prompting widespread speculation that there had been pressure from Beijing, according to theSouth China Morning Post.Li, however, stressed his retirement was in the best interests of the judiciary and would be conducive to orderly succession planning of the judiciary[18]as three other permanent judges on the Court of Final Appeal were to reach retirement age between 2012 and 2014. He also said the judiciary had been under his leadership for 13 years, which was a long time, and that retirement was consistent with his personal wishes. He dismissed speculation that he resigned due to political pressure.[19][20]

On 18 February 2010, Li achieved the highest score ever recorded (68.1) by theUniversity of Hong KongPublic Opinion Programme.[21][22]

On 8 April 2010, it was announced thatChief ExecutiveDonald Tsanghad accepted the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission to appointGeoffrey Maas Li's successor.[23]On 9 June 2010, Ma was formally endorsed unanimously by Hong Kong legislators.[24]But pro-democracy members remained concerned at the implications of Li's resignation.Margaret Ngsaid: "The public is deeply worried that [Li's resignation] signals an era in which judicial independence will gradually yield to the influence and intervention of Beijing... but I believe the challenges have always been there, openly at times, but unceasingly as an undercurrent."Emily Lausaid many people were unnerved by Li's decision to resign, and that "Hong Kong cannot afford another surprise resignation."[18]

On 17 July 2010, a farewell ceremony was held for Li. The courtroom was packed by judges and lawyers, including representatives of the Law Society of Hong Kong and the Bar Association.[25]

Extra-judicial life[edit]

Li has a long record of public service. He was appointedJustice of the Peacein 1985. In 1992, he was appointed member at-large of theExecutive CouncilofChris Patten(later Lord Patten of Barnes), the last BritishGovernor of Hong Kong,and was appointed Commander of theOrder of British Empirethe same year.

Li had served as Chairman of the Land Development Corporation, Deputy Chairman of the Inland Revenue Board of Review, member of the Securities Commission, the Law Reform Commission, the Standing Committee on Company Law Reform, the Banking Advisory Committee, and the Judicial Services Commission, and Honorary Secretary of theHong Kong Bar Association.He had also served as steward of theHong Kong Jockey Club.

On the education front, Li had served as vice-chairman of the Council of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and chairman of the university and Polytechnics Grants Committee. He had also served as a trustee of the Friends of Tsinghua University Law School Charitable Trust and as the vice-chairman of the School Council ofSt. Paul's Co-educational Collegeof Hong Kong.

Li has received numerous awards, including Honorary Degrees awarded by Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (1993); Baptist University (1994); Open University of Hong Kong (1997); University of Hong Kong (2001); Griffith University (2001), University of New South Wales (2002), University of Technology, Sydney (2005), Chinese University of Hong Kong (2006), Shue Yan University (2009), Lingnan University (2010), City University of Hong Kong (2010), Tsinghua University (2013) and University of Oxford (2013).[26]He was made an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple in 1997, an Honorary Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge in 1999, and an Honorary Fellow of St Hugh's College, Oxford in 2016.

Li was awarded theGrand Bauhinia Medalby the Hong Kong Government in 2008.[27]He received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service and the Sing Tao Leader of the Year Award in 2010. In the following year, he was made an Honorary Life Member respectively of the Hong Kong Bar Association and of the Law Society of Hong Kong. He is also a Patron of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law.

Since his retirement from the post of Chief Justice, Li has devoted himself to education. He is Honorary Professor of Law at theUniversity of Hong Kong,Chinese University of Hong Kongand theCity University of Hong Kong,[28][29]as well as a visiting professor of Tsinghua University.

In an interview published in early June 2020, Li said about theHong Kong national security law,whose enactment would follow at the end of the month, that it was understandable for theNational People's Congressto enact this legislation, but that "investigatory powers must be governed by Hong Kong law", and that a requirement on national security judges to not have dual or foreign citizenship would be detrimental to judicial independence.[30]

Li is married with two daughters. His wife, Li Woo Mo Ying Judy, is a graduate of the University of Hong Kong (Social Sciences, 1970).

References[edit]

  1. ^Raymond Wacks."Andrew Kwok Nang LI Citation".Archived fromthe originalon 16 July 2011.Retrieved2 March2010.
  2. ^Millett, Peter.As In Memory Long.Wildy, Simmonds & Hill Publishing; UK ed. edition (21 Sept. 2015). p. 191.
  3. ^"Hảo pháp quan hoạch tán lương sư ích hữu nghiêm thượng tư thủ đồ dư nhược vi ﹕ võng la tài tuấn tri nhân thiện nhậm".Ming Pao.17 July 2010.Retrieved18 July2010.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^"Hoàng nhân long dẫn tiểu thuyết nguyện sư phụ hưởng thụ thối hưu".17 July 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 20 July 2010.Retrieved18 July2010.
  5. ^Young, S. N. M., Da Roza, A., & Ghai, Y. (2014). Role of the Chief Justice. In Young, S. N. M., & Ghai, Y. (Ed.) Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal: The development of the law in China's Hong Kong (pp.252). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press
  6. ^Ghai, Y. (2014). Themes and arguments. In Young, S. N. M., & Ghai, Y. (Ed.) Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal: The development of the law in China's Hong Kong (pp.29). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press
  7. ^Mason, A. (2011). Chief Justice Li: A tribute. Hong Kong Law Journal, 41(1), 1-4. Retrieved fromhttps://www-heinonline-org.eproxy.lib.hku.hk/HOL/Pagehandle=hein.journals/honkon41&id=3&collection=journals&index=journals/honkon (Requires login)
  8. ^Pannick, David (29 July 2010). "Li's judgment lays a firm foundation for Hong Kong rule of law".The Times.London. p. 65.ProQuest733063762.
  9. ^Legislative Council (2010). Official record of proceedings (Dr The Honourable Margaret Ng’s speech) [Government publication]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.legco.gov.hk/yr09-10/english/counmtg/hansard/cm0609-translate-e.pdf
  10. ^Hong Kong Judiciary. (2015, September 25). CJ's speech at ceremonial opening of the Court of Final Appeal building [Press release]. Retrieved from http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201509/25/P201509250358.htm
  11. ^Millett, Peter.As In Memory Long.Wildy, Simmonds & Hill Publishing; UK ed. edition (21 Sept. 2015). p. 192.
  12. ^"FACV No. 14-16 of 1998".
  13. ^"Law Reform".Home.pacbell.net. 30 November 2001.Retrieved18 September2010.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^"Civil Justice Reform – Archives".Government of Hong Kong.Retrieved18 September2010.
  15. ^"Civil Justice Reform – Home".Government of Hong Kong.Retrieved18 September2010.
  16. ^"Lý quốc năng đề tảo 3 niên thối hưuArchived23 February 2012 at theWayback Machine"(Andrew Li Retires 3 Years Early),Ming Pao,2 September 2009.
  17. ^"Early Retirement of the Honourable Chief Justice Andrew Li".Hong Kong Government. 2 September 2009.Retrieved7 April2010.
  18. ^abWong, Albert (10 Jun 2010) "Lawmakers endorse Geoffrey Ma as top judge",South China Morning Post
  19. ^HK Chief Justice Andrew Li to retire early
  20. ^"28¤¸Ő¸¨šę š¸v§Yľôű – ŹPŽq¤éłřşôś".Sing Tao Daily.Archived fromthe originalon 5 August 2012.Retrieved18 September2010.
  21. ^"Đầu điều nhật báo đầu điều võng – lý quốc năng bình phân lịch sử tân cao".News.hkheadline.com.Retrieved18 September2010.
  22. ^"Sổ biểu".
  23. ^"Appointment of the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal".Hong Kong Government. 8 April 2010.Retrieved8 April2010.
  24. ^Phila Siu and Colleen Lee (10 June 2010)."Ma confirmed as next chief justice".The Standard.Archived fromthe originalon 29 June 2011.Retrieved10 June2010.
  25. ^"Lý quốc năng lệ biệt chung viện vô hối vô hám tự bỉ “Hương cảng chi tử” cảm kích thê nữ chi trì ".Ming Pao.17 July 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 18 July 2010.Retrieved18 July2010.
  26. ^"Oxford announces honorary degrees for 2013".University of Oxford. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  27. ^“Civil and Miscellaneous Lists” (http://www.info.gov.hk/cml/eng/miscell/index2.htmArchived26 October 2018 at theWayback Machine). Government of Hong Kong. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  28. ^"Lý quốc năng nhậm tam đại danh dự giáo thụ – tân lãng võng – tân văn".Sina Corp. Archived fromthe originalon 27 September 2010.Retrieved18 September2010.
  29. ^"rthk.hk – University appointments for retiring CJ".RTHK. 23 August 2010.Retrieved18 September2010.[dead link]
  30. ^Wong, Rachel (3 June 2020)."Hong Kong's ex-chief justice says security law must not be retroactive; opposes bar on foreign judges".Hong Kong Free Press.Retrieved18 July2021.
Legal offices
Preceded byasChief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong
Acting 		Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal
1997–2010 		Succeeded by
Order of precedence
Preceded by
Lee Shau-kee
Recipient of the Grand Bauhinia Medal
 Hong Kong order of precedence
Recipient of the Grand Bauhinia Medal 		Succeeded by
Henry Hu
Recipient of the Grand Bauhinia Medal
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